


the five stages of love

by blaizecraft



Series: dreamnotfound [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asking for a friend lol, Bottom GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Developing Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, George is oblivious, Getting Together, Internal Conflict, Is it possible for a fic to be both fast paced and a slow burn?, It focusses on Dream more though, I’m not gonna apologise though, Lots of Sex, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, POV Third Person, Pining, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Slow Burn, Smut, Top Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), all the juicy tags, dream is whipped, dtao3, this fic is extremely self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:29:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28702941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blaizecraft/pseuds/blaizecraft
Summary: ‘eros was the greek god of love, or more precisely, passionate and physical desire. without warning he selects his targets and forcefully strikes at their hearts, bringing confusion and irresponsible feelings or, in the words of “hesiod”, he “loosens the limbs and weakens the mind”.’george was dream’s eros.—in which dream experiences the five stages of grief whilst going through a complicated patch in his friendship with george.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: dreamnotfound [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181237
Comments: 140
Kudos: 873





	1. denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a disclaimer - i’m only writing this fic because dream and george have specifically said that they’re okay with shipping/nsfw. if either of them ever change their minds, i will delete this.
> 
> i hope you enjoy <3

dream was confused; that was the best way to put it. his entire situation was confusing. he was discomfited at the way he was feeling, astounded that he’d let himself fall so deep so quickly. he was afraid, even terrified, at just how easily he’d fallen, and was almost certain that the climb back up would be much harder than the drop down. but most importantly, most significantly, he was utterly, irrevocably infatuated with his best friend. 

if he was being totally honest, dream wasn’t sure exactly when his obsession with george had actually began, but he knew that the full force of his attraction hit him like a ton of bricks the minute george stepped off that godforsaken plane when he landed in america. dream knew he was fixated on the man from the minute they locked eyes, the minute george had practically flung himself into dream’s arms and gifted him the warmest hug he’d ever experienced. george’s presence was both calming and nerve-wracking - their first meeting had filled him with a strong sense of relief, but even just the thought that him and george would be together, at all times, made his senses tingle with anxiety.

see, dream and george had always had a rather... _interesting_ friendship. the way they spoke to each other, texted each other and all-round interacted with each other was entirely different to the ways they would interrelate with their other friends. they had always been a bit too close, and dream had found out quickly that he enjoyed george’s company much more than anyone else’s, as awful as that sounded. he just felt _comfortable_ with george; he didn’t ever feel like he had to censor himself around his friend, or pretend to be someone he wasn’t.

which is why dream  should’ve seen it coming; he should’ve been able to spot the mess that would become of their friendship from a mile away. and the situation definitely hadn’t been help by dream’s playful, incessant flirting - sometimes, dream would find himself making flirty remarks to george just to get a reaction out of him, just to see the way his cheeks would flush a light pink colour and the way his lips would turn up in a small, flustered smile. 

george’s arrival to the states had been the tip of the iceberg, that’s for sure. the short, snarky comments he’d send flying george’s way were much harder not to take proper accountability for when they were face-to-face, especially when dream didn’t have a blank screen to hide behind. the two of them, along with their other best friend sapnap, had all rented their own apartments on the same floor of the same building (they were considering all moving into the same place at first, but they soon realised that they all valued their personal space a bit too much for that), but dream had found himself slowly gravitating more and more towards george’s residence, whether it was for takeaways at dinner, a movie marathon, to work on codes, or even just friendly chats. dream didn’t really understand it at first; there was just something about george’s persona that put him at ease, but also left him reeling with uncertainty and recklessness. 

but dream was finally able to understand it the night _it_ happened for the first time. 

the two friends had been chilling at dream’s place, bored out of their minds, aimlessly scrolling through the youtube recommended page. sapnap had left long ago, mentioning that he had an important stream with their other friends karl and quackity that he needed to get back for. dream had eyed george playfully when sapnap had shut the door behind him.

“what about you?” dream asked. “are you not joining them?”

“no, not tonight,” george replied, the sensual politeness of his accent dripping from his words. 

“why not?” dream pushed further, wanting his friend to spill more terms from his pretty mouth, wanting him to talk for hours on end about everything and nothing. dream would listen.

george sent him a playful smirk, leaning back against the plush material of the sofa and crossing his legs underneath him. “i’d rather stay here.”

dream scoffed. “sure you would,” he said sarcastically. “you really got nothing better to do than sit here lounging on my sofa?”

“don’t pretend you don’t want me here, dream,” george shot back, a teasing glint in his eye. 

_of course i want you here,_ dream thought to himself. 

the night had progressed slowly, and dream noticed after a while that somehow they’d managed to shift a lot closer to each other, so much closer that george’s knee was in danger of making contact with dream’s thigh. they’d been talking for so long, about what dream could barely remember, because all his mind was able to comprehend was _george_. george being there with him, george being close to him, george giving him his undivided attention. dream didn’t process a shift in their dynamic at first, but it became increasingly clear to him that something had changed when he looked over at his friend, like, _really_ looked at him, and noticed the exuberant shine radiating from his eyes and the way his lips were turned up into a small grin. 

dream was sitting with his back to the sofa, both his feet planted on the floor, and george was perched next to his side, left shoulder pressing into the back of the sofa, legs still crossed.

they were very close.

dream couldn’t help but smile back at his friend. 

“what?” george asked, his grin widening.

“nothing,” dream replied simply.

george rolled his eyes. “you’re thinking about something. tell me what it is.”

“what makes you think you deserve to know?”

george huffed. “that’s rude.”

“oh come on now, you know i’m joking.”

“oh yeah?” george challenged. was it just dream’s mind playing tricks on him, or was george’s face getting closer to his? “tell me what it is then.”

when dream felt george’s warm breath ghost over the bottom of his face, he realised it wasn’t just his mind. 

“are you sure you wanna know?” dream’s voice had dropped almost an octave, and he both felt and heard george’s breath hitch.

“yeah,” george said, maintaining eye contact with dream, and suddenly, something in his head snapped.

_ fuck it. _

“well, instead of telling you,” dream started, slowly moving his hand to rest on george’s knee. george showed no sign of discomfort, and dream took it as an indication to continue. “why don’t i show you?”

george gulped, and dream licked his lips when he saw the way his friend’s adam’s apple bobbed. “do it.” 

so dream did it.

he leaned his head forward and caught george’s lips in a kiss. it wasn’t a particularly hard or impressive kiss, but it was eager and tentative, as if dream was trying to show george that he wanted what was happening desperately, but it was okay for george to back out if he wanted to. to dream’s surprise, george responded immediately - he pressed back against dream’s mouth with equal amounts of enthusiasm as he cupped dream’s cheeks with his hands. george’s zealousness spurred dream on, and without breaking their kiss, the younger man manoeuvred his friend so that he was straddling dream’s thighs, causing a surprised gasp to fall from george’s mouth.

so much had happened in such a short space of time, and dream’s head was spinning, both from the way george’s body was pressing against his own, and from confusion as to why on earth this was happening. yeah, george was good-looking, anyone in their right mind had to think that. but was dream really attracted to him so much that he wanted to make out with him? apparently so. dream had never even let himself _think_ about the possibly of doing anything like this with george, so to have him actually here, on his lap, devouring his lips, felt like both a dream and a curse. 

they’d taken it further that night. after what felt like hours of just kissing, grinding and feeling each other up, they’d moved to dream’s bedroom, where things had gotten a _lot_ more interesting. dream had filled up his friend in more ways than one, and he’d never felt more alive while doing it. finally having george underneath him, pressed against him, _around_ him, after years of casual flirting and sexual tension felt like a monumental weight being lifted off his shoulders. dream felt like atlas, the greek titan, finally being freed of his eternal malediction that forced him to hold the weight of the sky on his back. it was a breath of fresh air, an escape from the confinements of the cage he’d cornered himself into almost half a decade ago. 

they’d talked, afterwards, about what it meant. once they’d calmed down and caught their breaths, that is. dream had apologised to george for initiating the encounter so suddenly, but george just waved dream off, assuring him that he wanted it just as much as dream did. dream remembered their conversation perfectly. 

“so what does this mean?” george asked him. “we’re still friends, right?”

“of course,” dream assured him. “this doesn’t have to be weird, or anything. we can forget about it, if you want.” dream paused, before continuing. “or... we could do this again, if you wanted. it doesn’t have to mean anything.”

george was quiet for a moment, and dream would’ve done anything to be a mind reader, to be able to crawl in to the depths of george’s brain and pore over everything he was thinking.

“are you sure it won’t ruin our friendship?” george asked hesitantly. “i don’t want things tochange between us.” 

“things won’t change,” dream said confidently, turning so he was lying on the left side of his body, facing his friend who was lying on his back. “i promise you, we’ll still be friends. besides, this could be kinda fun, right? you trust me, i trust you. it’s safer doing this with someone we’re close to rather than a random person who we don’t know anything about.”

a small smile slowly formed on george’s lips. the brunet rolled onto his side so he was directly facing dream, and dream noticed that their faces were now only a few inches apart. “and you’re _sure_ about this?” he questioned. 

dream rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically. “for god’s sake georgie, _yes_ , we’ll be _fine_. now i hope you’re not too tired, ‘cuz if you keep looking at me like that, i’m gonna want to fuck you again.”

george smacked dream’s chest playfully, earning a wheeze from the taller man.

thinking back to their first night together, dream honestly couldn’t believe things had gone so well. when he leaned in and kissed george for the first time, he’d half expected the older man to slap him across the face and tell him to go to hell. so the fact that george had not only reciprocated his desire, but also wanted to _carry on_ reciprocating it for the foreseeable future, was more than dream ever could’ve imagined.

most of their nights had played out like this since the first time. when they woke up they’d arrange who’s flat they were going to meet at, and when the sun went down the two would gravitate towards each other like they were opposite poles of a magnet. they’d explore each other’s bodies and wallow in each other’s pleasure until they were physically too tired to go on, and knowing that there were absolutely no feelings attached was almost the cherry on top. dream had only ever been with women before george, and although it had been strange getting used to another man’s body at first, dream had soon realised that he _really_ liked it. 

or maybe it was just george he liked. dream wasn’t sure.

so that was how it’d been since the first night. the two friends would share text messages in the mornings, stream viewerships in the afternoons, and beds in the evenings.

it should’ve been enough.

so why did dream feel like there was something missing?

——————————

as their “agreement” had progressed, dream and george had managed to lay down two very specific ground rules. 

number one: no kissing, or touching, or any sort of romantic gestures were to be given without the intention of something sexual happening afterwards. this one was george’s idea. his theory was that if they confined acts such as kissing and groping to just the bedroom, then it would stop the lines of their friendship blurring too much into a relationship. because, after all, they were _best friends_ , goddammit, and neither of them were interested in shifting their labels towards anything other than platonic. the rule made sense, and it suited them both well. 

number two: no one, not even sapnap, could know about what was going on between them. it would just make things awkward between them and the people they chose to tell. and when you looked at it deeper, what _was_ there to tell? they were just friends who were fucking, and there was nothing weird about that in the slightest. they’d both agreed almost instantly that keeping this to themselves was the best option, because involving anyone else into their private business was bound to end messily.

apart from that, practically everything was fair game. at first they’d restricted their sexual activities to just the evenings, but when george was too tired to leave dream’s flat one night and had accidentally fallen asleep in his bed - well, dream had found out the next morning that george _really_ liked his morning voice. after that, they’d almost been using each other as booty calls. one of them would message whenever they were feeling horny, and the other would waltz over to their apartment like some sort of knight in shining armour. obviously the two of them had the right to decline whenever they wanted, and a positive of their new format was that the pressure of having to fuck every night was removed completely. 

dream liked their arrangement; he really did. he liked the way they their friendship had progressed, now to the point where they felt comfortable enough around each other to be able to share such vulnerable sides of themselves. he liked that george trusted him to the point where he’d let dream do to him things dream hadn’t even _dared_ to do to anyone else. and most importantly, even though they’d been having sex with each other for the best part of a fortnight, he liked that they were still _friends_. he knew that pacts like theirs often got messy, but dream truly believed that after all this was over, their friendship would survive. 

he had to believe it. because george was his best friend, and dream knew that he’d never be able to live without him.

——————————

dream and george were fucking; of _course_ they were, because what else would they be doing at two a.m. on a thursday morning?

george was laid down on dream’s bed with his back against dream’s mattress, his hands clenching the sheets so hard his knuckles were beginning to turn white. dream was positioned between his legs, thrusting into him at a harsh, fast pace. he was holding george’s legs up by the backs of his thighs, and the angle was perfect for both of them. the drag of his cock in and out of george’s hole felt heavenly to dream, and by the needy, desperate moans that were falling from george’s lips, dream was almost certain that he was hitting his friend’s prostate dead on with almost every thrust. george’s sweet, guttural noises were like music to dream’s ears - it filled him with an overwhelming sense of pride to think that it was _him_ that was causing george to fall apart like this, that it was _him_ and _only_ him that got to see george like this. 

when dream looked down at his friend, his breath hitched in his throat. god, george looked _ethereal_ \- eyes screwed shut, plump lips parted, soft cheeks flushed. he looked like a child of aphrodite, all perfect and debauched underneath him. dream groaned at the sight and quickened his pace, causing george’s eyes to fling open. his hands shot up to grip dream’s wrists and he whined pitifully.

”fuck dream,” he moaned, his eyes rolling back into his head as he arched his back in pleasure.

”you like that?” dream asked teasingly, slowing his pace and sending a collection of excruciatingly hard thrusts right to george’s sweet spot. george whimpered in time with all of them, and when dream began to move faster again george almost screamed.

”please dream, i- i need to come!” he begged, his thighs beginning to shake.

”go on then, georgie,” dream encouraged, making no effort to help the brunet out. he wanted to watch him do it on his own.

george moved his hand to his own dick and began stroking himself in time with dream’s thrusts, and dream groaned at the beautiful sight beneath him. 

“come for me, baby,” dream cooed, and that seemed to be the final straw for george. dream felt his friend’s body tense under his hands, and within seconds george was shooting his seed all over his hand and chest.

”fuuuuck,” george moaned as he came down from his high, his legs still shaking as dream continued to fuck into him. it wasn’t long before he was coming too, and he moaned george’s name at the top of his voice before shooting his load inside george, coating his insides with his cum. george was twitching lightly with overstimulation, and dream smirked down at him as he slowly pulled out, admiring the way his cum dripped obscenely out of george’s hole. 

“holy shit,” dream said, flopping down onto george’s right side to catch his breath. 

he heard george let out a breathy laugh. “yeah,” he said simply, and dream couldn’t help but wheeze. looks like post-orgasm bliss had already hit them both. 

“was that good?” dream asked, craning his neck to look at the older man.

george laughed again in response. “are you kidding? fuck, that was amazing, dream.”

dream felt pride bubbling in his chest. “good,” he stated.

george turned to look at dream, and their eyes locked.

dream studied george’s face intently. he looked at the disheveled nest of brown hair sat on top of george’s head. he glanced over george’s pink cheeks and even pinker lips. he gazed directly into george’s eyes, paying close attention to the way his pupils began to contract, showing that the effects of his orgasm had already began to ware off. 

dream stared at him. he couldn’t help it. calling george a child of aphrodite was an insult; he could’ve been aphrodite herself. 

the blond felt something inside him snap.

“you’re so pretty,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. 

_fuck. why the_ fuck _did you say that?_

dream prepared for the worst. he prepared for george to call him a weirdo, to jump out of the bed, dress himself and flee dream’s apartment without even saying goodbye.

instead, george just laughed, and a slight blush rose on his face. “is that the post-nut clarity talking?”

“shut up.” dream huffed out a sigh as he elbowed his friend in the side, causing george to giggle playfully. dream would’ve done anything to hear that sound on repeat for the rest of his life.

after they cleaned each other up and gotten dressed again, dream walked george to his door and waved him goodbye. as soon as the door shut behind his friend, dream groaned frustratedly and let his body fall back against the door, his head hanging between his shoulders. had he really been in denial this whole time? he couldn’t have feelings for george, could he? no, he wouldn’t let himself. but fuck, he already _had_ let himself, hadn’t he? he sealed his fate the minute he decided to leap into bed with the man who’d occupied his mind for the best part of five years. 

dream was fucked, he knew that much. and he also knew that things were bound to get _much_ worse the more he and george carried on having sex. but he couldn’t end it so soon - one, george would become suspicious as to why, and two, dream didn’t _want_ to. he wanted to keep george close to him for as long as was humanly possible.

_i’ll find away to keep myself under control,_ dream thought. _i’ll be okay._ we’ll _be okay. everything will be fine._

unfortunately, dream was about to find out that all that was exactly _not_ the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed this first chapter! just a warning that updates might be slow as i’m very busy with school at the moment. also, i apologise if the reiteration of them being “friends” was a little irritating but, y’know, the chapter’s called “denial” so that’s kind of the point ;)
> 
> if you would be so kind as to leave kudos or a comment, i’d greatly appreciate it.
> 
> i hope you’re looking forward to chapter two <3


	2. anger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two is here! 
> 
> the other updates definitely won’t be as quick as this one, as i have lots of schoolwork to be getting on with :(
> 
> i hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments <3

dream had never been more frustrated with himself. 

why the _hell_ did he have to go and catch feelings? that was the one of the _only_ things him and george had tried to be stern on. it was obvious between the two of them that their bond transcended an ordinary friendship (let’s face it, how “normal” could your friendship be considered if you were secretly fucking said friend), and both of them had acknowledged this affiliation, but the regulation had been made crystal clear: no falling in love. trust dream to break that rule after barely two weeks.

god, he was so pissed. he was pissed at himself for being foolish enough to agree to their friends with benefits arrangement while _knowing_ that there was a voice inside him that screamed for something more. he was pissed at george for being so goddamned _pretty_ , for making it impossibly hard for dream’s mind to function when the brunet was around, and for constantly making dream’s brain feel like purgatory whenever thoughts of the older man would arise. but most significantly, he was pissed at the fucking _universe_ for causing these terrifying emotions to manifest, because dream’s guilt at not being totally honest with his friend was eating away at him and _holy shit he did not deserve this._

so yeah, saying that dream was angry would’ve been an understatement. 

dream was so angry, he felt like he was suffering from ares’s rage.

at this point, dream was thanking the heavens that george was such an oblivious moron. the only thing that would’ve made this situation worse was if george was actually _good_ at recognising when someone was showing affection towards him. dream cared about his friend, he really did, but _god_ he could be so heedless sometimes. it would’ve been adorable if it wasn’t so annoying - dream practically had to spell out everything he was thinking and feeling in order for george to understand him. dream guessed you could consider that a positive, because it meant that dream had no excuse not to communicate with his friend properly, but it was still extremely annoying. still, dream knew he should be on his knees praying to the gods for forgetting to give george effective social skills, because dream was painfully aware that his wistful stares and flirty remarks were anything but subtle. 

it had also become increasingly clear to dream that george’s sex drive was _high_. the blond would’ve thought a 24 year old man would have his libido under control at that age, but apparently not. it was slightly intimidating - dream hadn’t _ever_ been with someone who could match his own ability to fuck, as obscene as that sounded. they were like two sides of the same coin, always able to match each other’s energy and make each other feel good in the process. it made dream’s blood boil how easily they seemed to connect, how effortlessly their bodies appeared to fit together. 

dream had enjoyed getting to know george’s body at first. he’d mapped out every inch of his skin, every crevice of his physique, and stored all the information he’d collected into the deepest depths of his brain, a realm he’d only venture into during their long, tiresome nights together. like the way george’s breath would hitch when dream bit at the skin of his collarbones, or the way his eyes would roll back into his head when the blond lapped at his nipples, or the pretty sounds that would fall from his lips when the younger man pressed his thumb to the slit of his cock. see, george was a _lot_ smaller than dream, and it was very easy for the blond to just let his friend lay back against the pillows whilst he attacked the brunet’s body with a mixture of featherlight touches and violent bites. 

the thing that had surprised dream the most about george was that he liked it _rough_. there had been numerous instances where dream had noticed how aroused the older man got when their activities turned aggressive. like the time when dream had been fucking his friend from behind and had accidentally squeezed his waist a lot tighter than he’d meant to, but instead of wincing george had let out a throaty groan and pushed his hips back against dream, making them both moan unexpectedly. or the time when george had been sucking dream off against his bedroom door, and dream had unintentionally bucked his hips into the smaller boy’s throat, but before he could choke up an apology the brunet moaned around his cock, grabbed one of dream’s hands and shoved it into his hair, practically begging for the blond to fuck his throat.

dream had found george’s liking for roughness a little intimidating at first. he had always been the type of person who liked being soft with his lovers; he adored laying them down against the sheets and exploring their bodies with soft kisses and teasing touches until they were a moaning mess underneath him, just begging for dream to do _something_ worth while. and whilst george seemed to love that too, it’d become increasingly clear to dream that his friend was into the hard side of sex just as much as he was into the soft side. 

it suddenly dawned on dream that a _lot_ could be done to explore this specific side of george, so dream decided to put a small plan together in his head that he would hopefully feel courageous enough to act out the next time they were together.

——————————

dream and george were making out on dream’s couch, only in their underwear. george was straddling dream’s lap and had his arms wrapped around his neck, and dream’s hands were planted firmly on the smaller boy’s thighs, just below where his boxers fit snugly around the soft flesh. they were rutting against each other slowly, just enjoying the way their kiss-swollen lips slid against each other’s in synchrony, as well as the delicious feeling of the other man’s tongue in their mouths. george was rolling his hips slowly, every so often grinding his ass against dream’s half hard cock. the pleasure was nowhere near enough for dream to get off, but it was just enough to stimulate his desire at that moment in time, and dream was much too invested in the way george’s back would arch with every roll of his hips to care about his own arousal right now. dream slid his hands around george’s body and connected them at the small of his back, pulling their bodies even closer together. george moaned at the close contact and broke their kiss, and a thin string of saliva still connected their lips as the older pulled away.

”fuck,” george breathed, his head dropping down so their foreheads rested together, his hips still making small movements on top of dream’s body. “this is really hot.”

”yeah, it is,” dream agreed. he moved his hands to george’s hips and squeezed, causing a quiet whine to fall from his friend’s lips. “aww, you like that baby?” dream teased. 

george nodded, and dream squeezed harder. the brunet’s eyes fluttered shut as a louder moan escaped his mouth, and dream stared proudly at the sight above him.

”what exactly do you like?” dream pushed further, rolling his own hips in time with the downwards motions from george. both men’s breathing quickened at the change. “do you like when i do this?” dream squeezed even harder into george sides, and the smaller man let out the loudest sound either of them had made all night. “or do you like it when i call you ‘baby’?” dream’s voice was dripping with desire, and by the way george melted in his arms, the blond knew he could hear it too.

”uhh, dream,” george moaned lowly, his fingernails digging into the skin of dream’s neck.

”what, baby? what is it? talk to me.”

george sighed out exasperatedly, obviously tired with the way dream would always make him say everything he wanted out loud, no matter how much it embarrassed him. “i- i like it when you call me that.”

”do you?” dream asked. he loosened his grip on george’s waist and began to trace small-soothing circles into the already bruising skin. their hips still hadn’t stopped moving. “that’s funny. i always thought you’d like it if i called you other names. _meaner_ names.”

a small smirk crept across george’s face, and he slowly lowered his head so that his lips were grazing dream’s ear. “well,” he began, and moved his hands so they were cupping dream’s cheeks. “the nice thing about having a praise kink _and_ a degrading kink... is that i get turned on no matter _what_ you call me.”

dream groaned and caught george’s lips in another kiss, much rougher than the other ones they’d shared previously that night. the blond tightened his grip on his friend’s sides and bucked his hips up harshly, causing george to let out a broken whine against dream’s lips.

“oh yeah?” dream said, keeping his hips moving violently as george moaned and writhed on top of him. “why don’t you tell me what you want me to call you, hm? i bet you’ve got a _lot_ of ideas.”

george let out a long, raspy cry before crashing their lips together once more. when they parted, dream was able to get a good look at his face. his pupils were blown so wide the blond could barely see his irises, and his lips were red and swollen from all the kisses they’d shared. god, he was so _pretty_ it hurt, and in that moment all dream wanted to do was throw him into bed and cover every inch of his body in dark, amoral bruises that wouldn’t leave for at least a few days.

”fuck dream, i-” george’s words seemed to get caught in his throat, and dream didn’t know whether it was because of the embarrassment of what he was about to say, the harshness of dream’s hips grinding against his ass, or a mixture of them both.

_probably the latter,_ dream thought. 

“it’s okay,” dream said soothingly, and he pressed a soft kiss to the older man’s throat. “c’mon georgie, talk to me.”

george whined beautifully. “i- i want you to call me a slut.”

”do you?” dream groaned, his own breath hitching now. was george aware of how hot he was, or was his sex appeal just another thing he was oblivious to? “i can do that,” dream said, peppering more wet kisses to dream’s neck and jaw.

“uhhhh, please,” george begged, slamming his own hips down to meet dream’s brutal pace. with the movements of their bodies, an onlooker could have mistaken what they were doing as full-on fucking, and in dream’s opinion this was just as hot, even though he’d need much more than this to actually come.

”please what?” dream teased, and george whined above him for what felt like the hundredth time that night, causing the younger man to chuckle. “come on baby, be a good slut. i can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me what it is.”

“oh my god dream, please fuck me,” george cried, and dream kissed him passionately again, arousal bubbling in his stomach at his friend’s words. 

“oh, i’m planning on it,” dream said cockily. “stand up,” he ordered, and george quickly obeyed him, but the blond thought it was cute how the smaller man still tried to stay as close to his body as possible as he did it. “now,” dream said sternly, gripping onto george’s chin. “i need to go to the spare bathroom to get another bottle of lube, and i want you on my bed, naked, with your hands above your head or _you won’t come_.”

george nodded hastily as he scurried through dream’s living room and into the hallway leading to the bedroom, and dream smirked to himself at how adorably willing george was to do his bidding when he was so blown with lust like this. 

the sex they’d ended up having that night was _incredible_. dream had let himself rest between george’s thighs, opening him up slowly with his tongue and his fingers until tears were falling from george’s eyes and expletives were flying from his lips. the blond fucked his friend through two orgasms, once on his back and once on his stomach, and by the end of it dream was so tired he could barely stand up properly as he walked to the bathroom to get them a towel to clean up with. it was worth it, though; sex with george was _always_ worth it. 

“thanks for that,” george said as dream threw him the towel to clean himself up, his voice still thick with breathlessness.

dream stared at his friend incredulously. “are you _seriously_ thanking me for having _sex_ with you?” he scoffed. “god, you’re so british.” 

“ _you’re_ so _stupid_!” george shot back. “why does that have _anything_ to do with me being british?”

”’cuz british people are always so polite!” dream exclaimed. “look at you, you’re all like, *oh, thank you _so much_ for having _sex_ with me dream, you’re _so kind_!*” dream ridiculed in a mockingly posh british accent, causing george to huff angrily and throw the towel back at the younger man. dream caught it easily. 

george stuck out his bottom lip petulantly. “i hate you,” he sulked.

dream smirked. “you weren’t saying that half an hour ago when my face was between your legs.”

dream relished in the bright red blush that spread over george’s face.

”you’re so annoying,” george said, rolling his eyes. 

“now, are you gonna leave my fucking apartment already?” dream said with faux annoyance. “i need my beauty sleep.”

”wow, aren’t you a well mannered host,” george replied in the same snarky tone as he slipped into his underwear. it was then that they both realised all their other clothes were thrown around dream’s living room.

george got up and tried to manoeuvre his way around dream, but the taller man gripped one of his wrists and pulled the brunet closer to him so their chests were flush together. standing so close to his friend, dream was really able to see how much he towered over him.

”when you’re in my bed, i think we transcend manners.” dream kept direct eye contact with george and watched the older man’s chest rise and fall, heavy breaths heaving themselves from his throat.

george ripped his wrist from out of dream’s grasp, a playful glint in his eyes. “i’d suggest being nicer to me dream.”

”hmm, and why is that?” dream asked. “you sure liked it when i was nasty to you in bed five minutes ago. or are you a different person when you’re horny?”

george smiled coyly, and stood up on his tiptoes so their faces were closer together. when george spoke, his voice came out in a whisper. “oh, you have no idea.” 

without warning, george titled his head up and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to dream’s lips. the blond was given no time to reciprocate, as his lips were gone just as soon as they’d arrived, and dream was hit with the same alluring smile when george pulled away.

”goodnight,” the brunet said simply, before exiting dream’s bedroom, dressing himself quickly and slipping out of dream’s flat without another word.

dream’s mind was racing. _what the fuck just happened?_ he thought to himself. george just kissed him... _after_ they’d had sex? didn’t that go against their first rule, a rule that specifically _george_ had initiated? dream could barely think straight; hundreds of conflicting thoughts were zooming through his brain so fast that he was practically getting whiplash. 

slowly, he walked backwards and sat down on the edge of his bed. he traced his thumb along his bottom lip, and he couldn’t help a small smile from curling upwards. all he’d expected from that night was a chance to fuck his anger out of himself, and hopefully a chance to discover george’s fantasies. but that kiss... it felt different than anything they’d ever done before.

maybe dream was thinking too much into it.

he sincerely hoped he wasn’t. 

dream went to sleep that night with a warm, content feeling simmering in his stomach, a feeling he never wanted to go away. 

——————————

they didn’t talk about the kiss.

any normal person would be thinking, _it was just a kiss! what on earth is there to worry about?_ but dream’s gut was telling him that it meant so much _more_ than that. if there _wasn’t_ some ulterior meaning, then why did george do it? it filled dream’s veins with so much unnecessary rage - it was just a fucking _kiss_ , goddammit, so why was that all dream could think about? 

dream wishes he could ask george about it, but if he was being truthful, he was terrified to do so. what if george freaked out? what if he told dream to fuck off? what if he insulted dream, told him that he was stupid for reading anything more than just a playful goodbye into the kiss? there were too many risks, and the rewards were too tiny for those risks to be worth taking. dream was _not_ about to lose george to some stupid after-sex kiss that probably meant nothing at all. 

so it was never brought up again. not when dream was bending george over his bathroom sink, or when he was ploughing into george with his back pressed against a wall. not when george invited him into his shower one night, or when he knelt under dream’s desk and gave him the best blowjob of his life after a particularly heated stream another night. not when they’d make out, or jerk each other off, or roll around in bed in the depths of the night, pushing each other to their limits.

to anyone else, a simple kiss like that would’ve seemed as insignificant as the glance of an eye or the touch of a hand. but to dream, it was anything _but_ simple. george had technically broken one of their only rules, a rule that _he_ specifically wanted to be implemented in the first place. even if there wasn’t anything to read into, it had to be admitted that it was a little weird. 

dream hated himself for becoming so invested in such a tiny gesture. he wasn’t mad at george, but then again, he kind of was - there was absolutely _no_ reason for george to kiss him like that, yet he’d done it anyway. it left dream with so many unanswered questions, the main one plain and simple - _why?_

_why?_ dream had no idea. but he was certain about one thing: he was going to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully you enjoyed this second chapter!
> 
> the feedback on the first one was incredibly kind and made me super happy, so good can’t thank you guys enough for that.
> 
> chapter three will be coming soon <3


	3. bargaining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn, i didn’t expect to be able to get this chapter out so quickly! i’m having so much fun writing this fic and i hope you’re having fun reading it :)
> 
> this chapter’s a little bit fluffier than the previous ones, but not much. 
> 
> i hope you enjoy it <3
> 
> (also i changed my username lol, hope you like it)

something had shifted between dream and george.

it wasn’t an obvious shift - in fact, with george’s obliviousness, dream probably guessed that the brunet hadn’t even noticed it. but dream had _definitely_ noticed. he had noticed the way george would gravitate towards his side whenever they’d have a get-together with the rest of their friends. he had noticed how he always seemed to try and find dream first whenever they’d enter an unfamiliar minecraft server or among us lobby. he’d seen the nimble glances, he’d felt the looming touches, he’d heard the amorous remarks. 

yes, the change was subtle, but dream knew it was there.

dream had multiple ideas about what the switch in attitudes meant. one: it was just a product of their arrangement. they had been sleeping together for quite a while now, and that kind of intimate connection with your best friend was _bound_ to fuck with your head at some point. hell, dream had half convinced himself that this was the exact reason why _he_ was having weird feelings towards the older man. two: george was just feeling a little confused about what was going on. if this was true, dream wouldn’t blame him - he had also felt a bit baffled by everything at the beginning, and maybe george’s mind had been lagging slightly and had delayed that stage of confusion. and finally, three: george had feelings for him back. yes, it was an incredibly optimistic scenario, but dream couldn’t help but hope, he couldn’t help but fantasise about an alternate reality where george actually _did_ share dream’s feelings. 

however, dream had _also_ observed that the brunet had become a little quieter and more reserved, too. he took longer to reply to dream’s messages, he talked less in discord and teamspeak calls, he was even sleeping longer, and if anyone knew george, they’d know that the man slept for long enough anyway. dream wondered whether there was something else going on, whether there was anything happening in his personal life that he was feeling nervous or anxious about. 

despite his worry; dream decided he wouldn’t mention any of his queries to george. he didn’t want to make his friend feel uncomfortable, or try and put words into his mouth, or back him into a corner and force him to reveal something that he wasn’t ready to reveal. out of them and sapnap, george had always been the most private one of the three, both on-screen and off-screen, so it made sense that george would be a little more hesitant to talk about what was going on inside his head. dream didn’t want to push his friend’s boundaries or make him feel uneasy, so he decided to keep his thoughts to himself, and only planned on questioning george about what was going on if things got any worse.

of course they still had sex regularly. (that was kind of a given at this point.) dream didn’t understand how, but having sex with george had somehow become even _more_ enjoyable as time went on. maybe it was because they’d been doing it for so long. he’d lost track of exactly _how_ long, but it’d definitely been around a month, and the two men were well on their way to having each other’s bodies totally memorised. at this point, dream knew every spot on george’s physique that’d have him moaning in delight and writhing in pleasure. george had also discovered a lot about him too, like how good it made dream feel when the brunet would run his fingers or tongue along the vein on the underside of his cock, making dream buck hips and moan in ecstasy. dream also loved getting those sorts of reactions out of george - he’d had a suspicion for a while now that george _really_ liked his hands, so during foreplay he’d make sure to glide them teasingly all over the older man’s body, paying close attention to his nipples where he knew george was extremely sensitive. 

it made dream feel so prideful when he thought about how easily he was able to get those sorts of reactions out of george. the brunet was more interactive with him in the bedroom than he was in any other aspect of their friendship, and dream revelled in it. he absolutely adored the dynamic they’d built up - although they’d fallen into the top/bottom roles quite easily, there often wasn’t any inequality when it came to who was the more assertive partner. even though dream’s submissive side was much more foreign to himself than his dominant side, sometimes it felt really satisfying to just lay back and let george do all the work.

dream genuinely believed that one of the best nights they’d ever had together had been one particular night where he _had_ let george take full control. they’d met in george’s flat after a particularly heated bedwars stream with sapnap; the blond had received a text from george almost straight after sapnap had ended stream, and dream was rushing over to the brunet’s place within seconds of the message arriving. george had eagerly dragged him into the apartment before dream had even gotten the chance to greet him, and dream was both surprised and turned on at his friend’s keenness. once they’d rid each other of their clothes, george had pushed dream back against the pillows of his bed and sucked him off enthusiastically, hollowing his cheeks and flicking his tongue expertly whilst opening himself up. afterwards, he’d straddled dream with his back facing the younger man’s body and rode him in the reverse position, giving dream a perfect view of his pale back and gorgeous ass. all dream did was let himself relax while george controlled the pace and angle, and they had both let out embarrassingly loud moans when they came. 

dream utterly treasured every moment where he and george could be close to each other like that. he still sometimes had trouble wrapping his head around the fact that _yes_ , their situation actually _was_ real. he felt like the luckiest man in the world, being able to kiss and feel and touch george in the ways that the older man allowed him to do. and although he knew that their friendship probably wouldn’t progress any more than what it already had, dream still felt blessed by the gods that he had what he had in that moment. when they were together, dream continually felt consumed with an array of mismatched emotions, all of them being positive ones. george was like euphrosyne, goddess of cheer, infecting dream’s entire conscience with joy and mirth. 

he knew it was unhealthy, but dream had even started to search for any possible interactions with george at all times in the day, even when they weren’t physically together. good morning texts, public tweets (both tagged and indirect), messages in online servers and lobbies - you name it, dream did it. he was starting to feel a little worried that he was becoming reliant on george, but he didn’t care. george was his best friend, of course it would make sense that he’d want to talk to him online. 

the best part about it was, though, that george had begun to actually join in on the antics, specifically on public websites. dream would tweet something random that had absolutely nothing to do with george, and somehow the brunet would find a way to make it about him. dream loved the dynamic they had, always being able to joke around with each other or make fun of each other with out the other person getting hurt or offended. it just made their friendship that much more special, in dream’s opinion. (if he was being honest, he had quite a few friends with which he shared that trait, but when it was specifically him and _george_ messing around, it just felt so much more significant to him.)

as well as online, dream had also found pleasure in constantly pestering george offline too. he remembered clearly one time when george was up surprising early for once, and had invited dream around to his place for breakfast whilst sapnap was still asleep (neither of them dared to wake him up and ask him to join him - sapnap was seriously grumpy when he’d been awakened without a good reason, and the two of them had found that out the hard way). the blond had been skeptical at first whether “breakfast” was a codeword for something else, but when he was greeted at the door by george’s cute smile and adorably untamed morning hair, he didn’t really care.

”come in, i’m just in the middle of cooking!” george said brightly, standing aside so dream could enter his apartment. the blond was hit with the beautiful smell of sizzling bacon and frying eggs, and he inhaled contently as george shut the door behind him.

“god, that smells _amazing_ ,” dream said, smiling at his friend.

”oh, i know right?” george agreed. “sit down at the dining table, i’ll just be two minutes,” he said, making his way towards the kitchen so he could keep his eye on the saucer on top of the stove. 

dream decided to ignore his friend’s request, and followed george into the kitchen quietly so the brunet couldn’t hear him. he stood behind the older man, watching him work for a few moments, and pushing all the invasive thoughts about the domesticity of the scene to the back of his mind. slowly he inched closer to george, and when he reached him he pressed the entire front of his body to the entire back of george’s, sliding his hands around his waist and locking his fingers at his stomach so he could pull the smaller man back into a tight embrace.

”dream, what are you doing?” george questioned, still keeping his eyes on the food.

”mmm, nothing,” dream said softly, nuzzling his face into george’s hair and breathing in deeply, inhaling the brunet’s beautiful scent. he began to rub circles with his thumbs into george’s stomach, and he felt the older man relax into his hold.

”come on dream, stop it, i need to make breakfast,” george said in protest, but his actions juxtaposed his words, as he made no effort to untangle himself from dream’s arms.

dream smiled into the dark locks on george’s head. he squeezed his friend’s body a little tighter. “but i have breakfast right here.”

george huffed, and turned his body around so they were facing each other. dream kept his fingers entwined, now resting at the bottom of the brunet’s back. “dream i’m serious, stop messing around. i need to keep watching this stuff and i can’t do it when you’re distracting me.”

“ooo, so you admit that i’m distracting?” dream wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and wheezed when he felt george hit him lightly in the chest.

”come on, dream, can’t you leave me alone for five minutes at least? i can’t keep my hands moving around if you’re trapping me like this.”

this time when dream spoke, the pitch of his voice was lower. “i can think of _much_ better things for you to be doing with your hands.”

george groaned at dream’s redolent words and buried his face in the blond’s chest, causing him to wheeze again. 

“dream, don’t _say_ things like that!”

”why not?” dream asked, still giggling under his breath. 

george looked up at him, his eyes wide and glossy. “ _because_ ,” he said vaguely. 

dream raised his eyebrows expectantly. “because?” he asked, hoping for a more precise answer.

what he got was george pulling his head down by the back of his neck and crashing their lips together. 

safe to say breakfast was forgotten that morning. 

that morning had been a turning point for dream. it was the most homely they’d ever acted, and dream relished in it. he wanted to be like that with george all the time, unafraid sharing physical affection that _wasn’t_ sexual, but he was worried that it might cross over george’s boundaries, so he decided he’d take as much as he could get. 

——————————

dream and george were lying in bed after a particularly tiresome round, both feeling completely blissed out. george was still there purely because he’d complained that “his legs didn’t work anymore”, and dream decided to humour his friend, not wanting their night to come to a close just yet. 

they’d been lying there for a while, talking about the most random topics imaginable, until an idea popped into dream’s head.

”hey, i just thought of a game we could play,” he said.

george stared at him quizzically. “what?” he asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

”oh, don’t look at me like that,” dream scoffed. “come on, it’ll be fun.” 

“if you say so,” george said in a sing-song voice, causing dream to grin at his friend’s reaction.

”okay okay, so,” dream began, his smile growing even wider. “the game is simple: we both have to name a body part we like about the other person.”

george’s eyes widened. “that’s a stupid game!”

”come on george, please play!” dream begged, sticking his bottom lip out and fluttering his eyelashes teasingly.

george just rolled his eyes. “but why? is this just another one of your schemes to try and make me flustered?”

dream smirked and winked at his friend. “maybe.”

”ugh,” george sighed, seemingly giving up on protesting. “you’re so annoying. fine, i’ll play.” 

“yes!” dream cried, pulling an overly-dramatic happy face that made george giggle. “okay, okay, i’ll start.” dream retended to look like he was deep in thought, and whilst doing so he let his eyes wander over george’s inquisitive face, let them travel over his bare upper-body that was littered in purple bruises, some old and some new.

dream already knew what he was going to say.

”i like your collarbones.”

george pulled a surprised face at him. “ _collarbones_? that’s random. why?”

dream shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “collarbones are fuckin’ sexy, dude. especially yours. they’re really prominent. easy to bite.”

a light blush spread across george’s face, and dream smirked.

”okay, your turn.”

george was silent for a few moments before he finally answered. “i... i like your hands.”

_knew it,_ dream thought, mentally cheering himself for being so observant. 

“oh yeah? what do you like about my hands?”

“dream, don’t do this-” the brunet started, but dream cut him off.

”come on george, i gave you an explanation, now _you_ give _me_ an explanation!” 

george sighed. “they’re... big. and strong, and veiny. they’re hot.” 

dream wheezed. “wow george, real smooth.”

george punched dream lightly in the arm, making the blond laugh even harder. “you asked me to tell you, so i told you, and now you’re making fun of me!”

”relax george, i’m just messing with you,” dream assured his friend, running a hand through the brunet’s hair softly. “now, my turn. i like your lips.”

george scoffed. “that’s an obvious one.”

”well, it’s true! they’re smooth, and nice, and i like kissing them. you’re a good kisser.”

”you’re not the first person that’s told me that,” george said with a smirk on his face. 

dream chuckled at george’s sudden burst of confidence. “yeah, and i bet i won’t be the last either.”

the blond pretended not to see the smile on his friend’s face falter at his words. 

“my turn now,” george said, changing the subject. “i like your arms.”

”yeah?” dream asked. “why?”

”they’re big and strong,” george replied, and dream was really beginning to see a theme with george’s choices. “and i know for a fact you don’t work out, so i have no idea how they look like that,” he continued.

dream dismissed the comment with a shrug of his shoulders. “i just have superior genes, i guess.” he wheezed when the brunet rolled his eyes exasperatedly. “right, me again. i like your thighs.” 

“you do?” george asked.

”yeah. they’re soft and cushiony, and they look pretty with bruises.” the blond revelled in the blush that spread across the older man’s face, and dream decided to push him further. “honestly, they make incredible earmuffs.”

” _dream_!” george cried, burying his face into the pillows out of sheer embarrassment. 

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry, it’s just too easy!” dream said, laughing at his friend’s adorable reaction. george slowly removed his face from the pillows, and dream beamed at him. “come on, it’s your turn.”

”okay,” george said. “i like _your_ lips.”

dream pulled a face of fake disgust. “you can’t steal one of my ones, that’s cheating!”

”it isn’t cheating, you didn’t specify any rules!” george countered. “besides, i _do_ like your lips. you’re a good kisser too, for the record.”

”awww thank you george,” dream said, putting on an overly-gracious, almost patronising tone to his voice. “see, i’m so much more grateful than you are.”

”no, you just love it ‘cos you always fish for compliments,” george shot back.

”i do not!”

“yes you do, you do it all the time!”

this time it was dream’s turn to roll his eyes. “whatever,” he huffed jokingly, earning a giggle from the smaller man. 

dream decided he wanted to get his own back on george for his teasing comments. he wanted to make the older man as flustered as possible.

”my turn,” he said. “i like your ass.” 

george’s face immediately heated up, and dream wheezed at the sight.

”holy shit dream, you’re so _annoying_ ,” he whined, covering his reddening face with his hands.

“i mean it though,” dream said, trying to sound as sincere as possible. he bit his lip suggestively. “your ass is _amazing_.” the blond moved the hand he wasn’t lying on around george’s body and gripped one of his cheeks, squeezing it gently. “it’s hot as _fuck_ , trust me george.” he slapped the same cheek lightly, and george’s breath hitched in his throat. “prettiest ass i’ve ever seen.”

george gradually moved his hands away from his face, and dream spied the playful glint in his eyes straight away.

”oh yeah?” the brunet questioned. “well i like your dick.”

this time it was dream’s turn to blush, and george giggled delightfully at his reaction.

” _george_ ,” dream huffed out, his breath unsteady, and his response only made george carry on his dirty words. 

“god, i love your dick _so much_ dream! it’s so long and thick and _big_! i love it when you make me choke on it, i love it when you fuck me with it, i love-”

within the blink of an eye, dream rolled on top of the smaller man and pinned him down on the bed, his arms trapped at either side of his head by dream’s iron-like grip and dream’s position between his legs restricting all his movements.

”keep talking like that, and i might just have to give you _exactly_ what you love,” he said darkly, arousal prickling in his belly. 

george grinned. “why _don’t_ you give it to me, dream?”

dream decided to do just that.

——————————

to say that him and george had been so close to each other over the past few weeks, dream could feel that something was off with his friend. he knew george better than he knew anyone else, and he’d been spending so much time with the older man recently that he’d learned all his tells, like how him chewing his bottom lip meant he was deep in thought, or him bobbing his leg meant he was anxious about something, or his eyes darting around the room and unable to focus on anything meant he was hiding something important. it’d only been a couple of days since that stupid body part game, but george had been displaying all of these tells, along with other ones that had dream feeling a little concerned. did dream do something wrong? had something bad happened once he had gotten back to his flat? dream had no idea, but he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

he didn’t want to mention any of his worries to george, because if there _was_ something wrong, there was obviously a reason why george hadn’t told him, and he didn’t want to take the opportunity away from his friend to tell dream on his own accord. dream felt that it was better to just let the situation play out naturally, and if george wanted to talk to him about it then he could.

that was implying that something had actually happened, but maybe dream was just overthinking the whole situation. his adhd made him prone to stuff like that, and he really did want to believe that he was just making a mountain out of a molehill, but there was still a part of his brain that was telling him that something really weird was up with george. 

dream had just about convinced his mind to drop the situation, when he heard his phone ping. he unlocked it and checked the screen.

it was a message from george.

_hey dream - do you think we could tone down our meetings for now? we don’t have to stop completely, but i feel like we’re currently delving into a realm i’m not too comfortable with. i trust you, and i’m sure you understand :)_

dream’s heart sank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter done! sorry for the abrupt ending, i was up really late finishing this chapter and i couldn’t wait to release it. 
> 
> as always, i’d love to hear your feedback in the comments. you have no idea how elated i feel when i see that people have commented, it genuinely makes me so happy :)
> 
> chapter four’s gonna get a bit angsty, so be prepared <3


	4. depression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter four is finally here! sorry this update took a little longer than the others, i’ve been quite busy with school :)
> 
> hopefully you like this one, it’s a little different but i’m really proud of it <3

george really didn’t like him back.

the reality hit dream like a knife in the chest, burying itself deep inside his body and puncturing his already-bruised heart. it coiled far into his very being, seeping into his veins and infecting his blood. it stung like a nettle, burned like a fire.

it was safe to say that dream felt like absolute shit.

if he was being totally honest, it was his own fault that he was in this situation. george had made it crystal clear from the get-go that he wanted nothing more than sex, and for some reason dream had decided to let himself entertain the idea that their arrangement could’ve ended up as anything other than that. why had he been so stupid?

he should’ve known it would come to this. dream always managed to get himself into situations like this - he’d get attached to someone who didn’t care as much about him as he cared about them, and he’d get his heart broken. it was an endless cycle. obviously it wasn’t george’s fault – how was he supposed to know that dream was going to catch feelings? no, it wasn’t his fault at all. the only person to blame here was dream. if anything dream did this to himself.

he recalled reading about the greek god eros when he was only in middle school. “eros was the greek god of love, or more precisely, passionate and physical desire. without warning he selects his targets and forcefully strikes at their hearts, bringing confusion and irresponsible feelings or, in the words of ‘hesiod’, he ‘loosens the limbs and weakens the mind’.”

george was dream’s eros.

dream didn’t speak to his friend about any of his thoughts or feelings, mostly because he knew george was already uncomfortable with the levels of intimacy their “relationship” had been bringing to them, but also because he didn’t want to lose george just yet. these past few weeks had been absolute heaven for dream, and even if he couldn’t have the romantic side, he still wanted to keep the physical side for as long as possible. dream had also come to the conclusion that speaking to george about what was going on inside his head was probably the _last_ thing that george wanted – the guy had specifically said that he was “uncomfortable” with the realm of closeness they were previously delving into, and dream suddenly gushing to george about all his feelings and emotions would probably weird him out even more.

dream soon realised, however, that he was lucky that george shared his liking for their physical activities, too. they still had sex, obviously, but it just wasn’t as frequent anymore. before they had been meeting pretty much daily, but now it was only three or four times a week, and neither of them would ever stay the night. dream still worshipped his body, still pressed his lips and stroked his hands along every patch of skin, still touched and sucked and fucked george the way he knew his friend liked it, but that was it. no more goodbye kisses. no more secret hand-holding under shared blankets with sapnap. no more suggestive photos sent to each other during non-facecam streams. it was just like it was when they first began.

although it hurt not being able to have george the way he truly wanted him, dream would take whatever he could get. he would take whatever his friend was willing to give him, would receive everything the older man was comfortable to gift him with open arms, kind eyes and a welcoming smile. because dream cared about him, he really did, and he just wanted him to be happy in the long term.

even if it meant that dream would have to sacrifice his own happiness in the short run.

——————————

george was currently on his knees blowing dream, which meant that the blond was about as close to heaven as he could ever hope to get.

the older man’s mouth was warm and wet, and encased him in all the right ways. the hollowing of his cheeks and occasional swallowing of his throat sent dream’s brain spinning, and shockwaves of violent pleasure seemed to shoot up his spine every time the brunet would lick at the head of his cock or run his tongue along the vein on the underside. george’s mouth felt like ecstasy, hot and tight and deliciously intoxicating, and dream couldn’t get enough of it.

dream was sat on his sofa, one hand clutching at the fabric and his other hand buried in the brunet’s hair, occasionally tugging at the brown locks whenever he’d feel the sinful movement of george’s tongue. the blond had thrown a cushion on the floor so his friend didn’t hurt his knees, and so far george had made no complaint, which only made things even better. he couldn’t wait to repay the favour to george, to have _him_ be the one moaning in pleasure as dream used his own mouth and tongue to pull him to the edge. 

”fuck, so good george,” dream groaned as he felt his climax approaching. “so fucking good.” the exhilarating feeling of george’s mouth around him was almost too much to bear, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could last. “down your throat or on your face?”

he felt george moan around his cock, and heat pooled in dream’s stomach.

without warning, george pulled off dream’s dick and began stroking it hurriedly, shutting his eyes tightly and keeping his mouth wide open. the sight underneath him, george’s stunning face, paired with the fast strokes of his hand, had dream losing all his composure and self-control within seconds. he came with a loud groan, shooting all over george’s lips, cheeks, nose and chin, and dream bit his lip as he watched some of the rogue droplets land in his friend’s mouth, resting on his tongue. when george had finished stroking him through it, he opened his eyes and swallowed, keeping direct eye contact with dream as he licked the excess cum off his lips. he tucked dream’s dick back into his jeans and stood up, climbing onto dream’s lap. the blond kissed him almost instantly, moaning at the taste of himself on george’s tongue.

“fuck,” he breathed out, lifting a hand up to george’s face and swiping some of the cum off one of his cheeks with two of his fingers. he held the soaked digits to george’s mouth and the brunet understood instantly. he opened his mouth and let his tongue slide across the blond’s fingers, licking and sucking at them until they were totally clean, and dream was mesmerised by the sight. “god, you’re so hot,” he said, unable to hold the praise back. he moved his hand down below their waists and went to grip between george’s legs, but instead of feeling a bulge, he felt nothing. “you’re not hard?”

george shook his head. “i finished myself off.”

_oh_. “you could’ve let me do it.”

“i couldn’t wait.” 

dream sighed. “well... thanks for that. that was really good.”

”yeah, i think i’m getting better at this,” george said with a smirk.

”you _definitely_ are,” dream replied, and both men laughed. 

“god, i’m so weird for thinking about this, but,” george began as he rolled off dream and grabbed a nearby tissue to wipe his face, “i can’t help but think sometimes how awkward it’d be if sapnap accidentally walked in on us doing something like this. and that _is_ a possibility, because i know for a _fact_ that you don’t lock your door when i come in.”

dream rolled his eyes playfully. ”come on, you think sapnap would _notice_? that kid could see us sucking each other’s dicks right in front of him and turn a blind eye. he’s oblivious as fuck.”

george giggled. “yeah, i guess you’re right.” he stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch. “i’m gonna head off now if that’s okay.”

”of course,” dream said. “are you sure you don’t want me to, you know...”

george just waved him off. “oh, don’t worry about me. you can repay the favour another time,” he said with a wink.

dream smirked at his friend. “i’ll look forward to it.”

george smiled as he left, leaving dream alone with just his thoughts to occupy himself with. 

dream thought back to george’s previous comment about sapnap, and suddenly an idea hit him. 

why couldn’t he just talk to sapnap?

obviously there was the big answer - him and george had both agreed that they wouldn’t involve anyone else into their personal business, and that included sapnap. but they had another rule, too, a rule that george had broken _weeks_ ago. surely it wouldn’t hurt if dream went to his other best friend for advice? _especially_ if he made sapnap promise that he wouldn’t tell anyone else about what was going on. 

besides, maybe it’d help dream. maybe talking to someone about everything he was thinking would help him organise his thoughts. plus, sapnap knew them both as well as they knew each other, and maybe sapnap would be able to give him some guidance as to what to do about the sticky situation they’d caught themselves in. 

so it was final. dream had decided. the next day, he would call sapnap and ask him to come over, and hopefully he’d exit the conversation a little less confused than the way he was feeling now. 

——————————

“hey dude, what’s up?” sapnap asked casually as dream flung the door open.

”god, i’ve _never_ been happier to see your face!” dream exclaimed as he dragged his friend into his apartment.

“i don’t know whether that’s a compliment or an insult,” sapnap said.

dream just laughed. “it’s a compliment, i promise you.” he pulled sapnap over to his couch and sat himself down. “come on, sit down. we have a _lot_ to talk about.”

“is everything okay?” sapnap asked, sitting down beside dream on the sofa. “it sounded pretty urgent when you called me over.”

”everything’s fine, i guess. well- actually you know what, sapnap? everything is _not_ fine. _nothing_ is fine. so much shit has happened in the last few weeks and i have _no_ idea how to feel about any of it and i’m _really_ confused and i-”

”woah woah _woah_ , calm the hell down!” sapnap interrupted, gripping dream’s arm to try and pull him out of his rant. “i get it, you’re stressed, but _slow down_.” 

dream sighed strongly. “sorry dude. there’s just... a lot going on right now.”

”it’s okay,” sapnap assured him. “i’m here to help. so tell me... what the hell could’ve happened that could make you this worked up? you’re never normally like this.”

”it’s... kind of a long story,” dream said.

sapnap shrugged his shoulders. “well, i’m here to listen. we have all night, don’t we?”

“yeah.” dream took a deep breath. _here goes_. “okay, so... a lot’s been going on with me and... with me and george. we’ve kind of being going through a... a _strange_ patch in our friendship.”

“wait, have you two fallen out?” sapnap questioned, a shocked look creeping up on his face. “is that what this is about?”

“well, we haven’t exactly _fallen out_ ,” dream said, unsure of how to properly word his thoughts. “it’s... complicated. we’re okay, like, we don’t hate each other or anything, but... things are different now, between us.”

”...i’m not sure what you mean,” sapnap replied, his facial expressions morphing into something along the lines of confusion.

was dream really about to do this? was he really about to let sapnap in on everything that’d happened between him and george? was he really about to cross this line.

apparently so.

_fuck it_ , he thought to himself. 

he told sapnap everything. 

he told him about the night they’d began their arrangement (sparing him of all the explicit details, obviously). he told him about their rules, and how george had managed to break one of them only a fortnight in. he told him about his growing feelings, about how scared he was at the fact that he’d let himself indulge in those feelings, and about george’s devastating text. but most importantly, he told him about his own unbearable confusion. 

sapnap just sat there and listened as dream spilled all his thoughts and feelings out into the open. it was quite cathartic, actually - being able to sit and just rant about everything that had been getting him down felt really, _really_ good. 

when he finally finished, he looked up at his friend’s face, and saw him staring back with a dazed expression. “that was... a _lot_ of information.”

“yeah, sorry i kinda info-dumped there,” dream apologised. “i just didn’t wanna forget anything important.”

”no, it’s cool, i get you,” sapnap said. the man was quiet for a moment, seemingly trying to pick the right words to say. eventually he seemed to settle on: “so... you and george, huh?”

dream rolled his eyes and groaned, shoving his head into his hands. “ _that’s_ what you choose to take away from everything i just told you?”

”well, that _was_ the defining feature of your whole speech,” sapnap said. he giggled when dream groaned again. “i dunno man, it’s just... i always knew you and him were close, but i never knew you were _that_ close, y’know?”

”yeah, it’s... i know it’s probably a bit of a shock,” dream said. “it’s still kind of a shock to me, too.” 

“so, what do you need me for, then?” sapnap asked. “you just want me to sit here while you gush about your crush?”

dream smacked sapnap on the arm, making him laugh even harder. “god, sapnap, _no_!” he took a deep breath before continuing. “i just... need some advice, that’s all.”

”well, tell me what _specifically_ you need advice for and we’ll see what i can do for you.”

dream bit his lip. “it’s just that i think i really like him, and if i’m being honest, i don’t think he likes me in the same way.”

”well, what makes you think that?” sapnap asked.

“that text he sent me about a week or so ago,” dream said. “here, i’ll read it to you.” dream pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and scrolled through to his and george’s messages. “ _‘hey_ _dream - do you think we could tone down our meetings for now? we don’t have to stop completely, but i feel like we’re currently delving into a realm i’m not too comfortable with. i trust you, and i’m sure you understand.’_ ” he read out the entire thing, then locked his phone and dropped it on the sofa next to him. “do you see what i mean? it’s obvious that he’s intimidated by how affectionate i can be.”

”i guess ‘intimidated’ could be good way to describe it,” sapnap agreed. “but when you say he’s ‘intimidated’, maybe you’re interpreting it wrong.”

“what do you mean?”

”well, you’re looking at it as if george is saying ‘i don’t want you enough’. but what about if he _actually_ meant it as ‘i want you too much’?”

dream stared at his friend, puzzled. “i’m still not following.”

”god dream, you’re so dense!” sapnap cried. “think about what you’re going through right now: you’re worried that your feelings for george are stronger than his feelings for you. well what if george is going through the exact same thing? what if he sent you this because he was afraid that if you carry on the way you are, then his feelings are gonna get out of control?”

dream stared at sapnap, dumbfounded. “you... you really think that?”

”i dunno dream, maybe,” sapnap said. “it could be a possibility. i mean, that’s exactly what you’re going through, isn’t it? so why is it so hard to believe that george is going through that too?”

dream had never thought about it like that. “i guess you have a point.”

”look, i’m not saying that that’s precisely what george is thinking,” sapnap quickly backtracked. “honestly, i’ve got no idea what’s going through that kid’s head. but it might be a shout.”

”it’s scary to think like that, though,” dream admitted. “i just really don’t wanna get my hopes up. that’s what i did last time. i got complacent, i allowed myself to get too attached, and now look.”

”it is kind of a shitty situation you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

”yeah, you can say that again,” dream said, rolling his eyes. “i just... i just wish i knew what he was thinking.”

”i get you,” sapnap replied. “but you’re different types of people, dream. this situation has proved that. you started feeling more strongly about so him threw your entire body and soul into him. george starts feeling more strongly about you so he tries to pull away.”

”well, your scenario is implying that george actually _does_ have romantic feelings for me, which i strongly believe that he _doesn’t_.”

”it could be a shout, y’know,” sapnap suggested. “but i understand why you wouldn’t want to think like that. if i was in your situation, i’d be trying to think more pessimistically too.”

”but what can i do?” dream asked. “i can’t just _ask_ him about what he’s feeling, because i’d either weird him out or make him uncomfortable. he obviously doesn’t wanna talk to me, which is why he told me he wanted to tone it down over text and not face-to-face.”

”well, maybe you could try... i don’t know, reciprocating george’s actions?” sapnap proposed. 

“what do you mean?” dream asked again.

“i just mean, like, if george really wants you to tone it down, then... you _should_ tone it down. go back to doing the absolute bare minimum. if george doesn’t mention anything to you about your lack of effort, then it’s obvious that that’s what he wanted the whole time. but if george really _is_ going through what you’re going through, and you start to distance yourself from him, then... maybe he’ll actually _want_ to talk to you about it then.”

dream mulled over sapnap’s words for a few seconds. “you might actually be onto something there,” he said.

“you obviously know what you want,” sapnap continued. “you know that you like him, right? and, excuse me for putting words in your mouth, but... you’d wanna be with him, right? as like a couple.”

dream felt sapnap’s words pull at his heartstrings. “yeah, i- i probably would.”

”well have you considered the fact that maybe george has absolutely _no idea_ what he wants? he’s probably even more confused than you are. maybe it’d be a good thing if you decided to distance yourself a little, so that george can sort out everything in his head.”

dream sighed. “god, i should’ve come and talked to you sooner.”

”do you want me to talk to george about it?” sapnap suggested. “because i could-”

” _no!_ ” dream said quickly. “no, please, do _not_ do that.”

“okay, okay, i _won’t_ do that, i promise,” sapnap said defensively. “but... maybe consider doing what i suggested, dream. i’m not saying end things completely, because i can see by the way you talk about him that being with him makes you happy, and trust me, _all_ i want is for the both of you to be happy. but you _can’t_ be happy if you’re both so confused.”

”i know,” dream replied. “you’re actually making a lot of sense. but... sapnap, i really like him. these past days, just thinking about the fact that he might not reciprocate my feelings... dude, it makes me feel like shit.”

”i’m not surprised,” sapnap said. “and if i were you, i wouldn’t let yourself think too much about the romantic side of whatever you have going on. it’s better to assume the worst, so that you’re not disappointed if the worst does end up becoming the outcome.” sapnap sighed. “but, dream... don’t be too harsh on yourself, okay? you’re a great guy, and i’m sure there’s a possibility that george would be interested in you romantically, as long as you give him a little space to breathe.”

dream smiled at his friend. “thanks, dude. this really helped.”

”no problem, buddy,” sapnap replied brightly. “and if you need anything else, _please_ talk to me. i’ll try and help as much as i can.”

”you’re the best,” dream said, pulling sapnap into a short but tight hug. “i love you, dude.”

”i love you too,” sapnap said as they pulled away. “hey, we’re doing that big streamer meet up in l.a. in a couple of weeks, right? maybe leave it until after then before you try and talk to him face-to-face about any of this. you don’t wanna overwhelm him any more than he probably is.”

“i will do,” dream answered. “you’ve been a big help, thank you.”

”don’t worry about it dude,” sapnap said. “so, wanna play bedwars?”

——————————

after dream had let sapnap’s words properly sink in, he decided he was going to do exactly what his friend had suggested. from now on, he was going to assume that george had absolutely no feelings for him whatsoever, because that was exactly the type of signal george had been sending him since the infamous text. if he was right, and george really didn’t have feelings for him, then surely dream distancing himself slightly wouldn’t be a problem. but if he was wrong, and there was a chance that george really _did_ like him back, and was just a little confused, then... well, dream would just have to wait and see.

he just prayed that his plan ended up paying off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as you’ve probably realised, next chapter will be the last chapter. i promise i’m gonna make the boys communicate lmao, they definitely deserve a long talk ;)
> 
> i’ve been absolutely blown away by all your kind comments, it makes me so happy to see how many people have enjoyed my work so far.
> 
> hopefully you look forward to chapter five <3


	5. acceptance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally - the final chapter is here! i hope you guys have been looking forward to this. as usual, any comments are greatly appreciated.
> 
> i just have a couple of requests for you guys:  
> 1) please don’t repost this fic on any other platforms - i don’t write on wattpad or fanfiction.net or anywhere else, so if you see this fic anywhere other than ao3, please alert whoever reposted it that i’m not okay with this.  
> 2) don’t donate about this fic to any of the creators involved - i don’t want what happened with heat waves to happen to this too. 
> 
> once again, i’m so thankful for your support, and i hope you enjoy this last chapter <3

dream knew that it was vitally important for him to implement sapnap’s plan as soon as possible.

he’d just about come to terms with the fact that george didn’t like him back. the thought hurt dream more than almost any emotional pain ever had, but he knew that it was important that he stayed realistic and recognised that there was a very large possibility that george’s feelings for him were much less strong than his feelings for george. of course there was still a slither of hope that george maybe _did_ like him romantically, but dream decided he wouldn’t let himself think about that fact, just in case it wasn’t true. after all, he knew that it would be better for him to think pessimistically in situations like this, the more it would hurt if his hopes were crushed. 

it was only a day before the thee of them were supposed to be heading off to los angeles to meet all of their youtube and twitch friends, but since his talk with sapnap, dream had done exactly what his friend had suggested - he’d distanced himself even further from george than he had before. since his and sapnap’s talk they’d only had sex three times, which might be considered a lot for some people, but it definitely wasn’t for them. george hadn’t complained about it though, so dream chose to assume that that meant that george was okay with it. george had asked that from him, after all, and the last thing dream wanted was to make him uncomfortable. besides, wasn’t that what george said that he wanted?

it was a tricky situation to navigate through, but dream had a pretty good idea of what his actions were going to be over the next few days. him, george and sapnap would fly to l.a., they’d have a nice relaxing long weekend away with their friends, and when they got back dream would finally rip the plaster off and face his feelings head on. he’d finally force himself to muster up the courage to ask george to talk about their feelings. it was about time, after all; they’d been walking on eggshells around each other for over a month, and it was about time that both of them got their shit together and started acting like adults. 

dream just hoped that everything went well, because he really didn’t know what he’d do if it didn’t. 

——————————

the three of them woke up bright and early on friday morning so they could get to the airport and catch a morning flight. sapnap drove them there, seeing as he was the only one that actually had a licence or a car. they got through security and customs quickly, and didn’t have to wait long for their flight to be called. the flight was supposed to last just under four hours, which thankfully wasn’t the longest flight dream had ever had to endure. the three of them had managed to book seats all next to each other - dream was sat in the middle of their row, seeing as he had graciously gifted george the window seat before the plane set off, and the blond pretended not to notice sapnap’s knowing stare when george fell asleep about two hours in and his head drooped onto dream’s shoulder.

in dream’s opinion, the flight went swimmingly - there was barely any turbulence, and the time had gone by much faster than he was expecting it to. because they were only staying for a few days, they had agreed to just take carry-on bags, so that meant that when they got off the plane they didn’t have to to wait for a ridiculous amount of time to collect any of their luggage. their time spend in the l.a. airport went by like a blur, and fortunately they were able to catch a taxi as soon as they exited the building. the three of them clambered in, all squishing up together in the back seats, and once dream had given the address of their hotel to the driver, they were on their way.

the drive to the hotel was mostly quiet, except for dream and sapnap occasionally pointing out different landmarks for george. dream knew that out of the three of them, george was definitely the most excited - all of this was new to him, and it made dream’s chest feel warm when he saw george’s eyes light up every time he saw something else out of the window that he deemed interesting. suddenly, dream was hit with a realisation that made him embarrassed not to have thought of sooner - george had literally moved to a different _country_ , away from all his family and old friends; dream should’ve _expected_ him to be acting strange. god, dream was so stupid. he knew for a _fact_ that if he was in george’s position, if he had flown halfway across the world to move in with two people he’d met on the _internet_ , he wouldn’t have dealt with it _half_ as well as george had been dealing with it. he really didn’t give george enough credit - the brunet was extremely strong, and dream just wished he’d be more open to talking about his feelings and emotions. 

it didn’t take long for the three of them to reach the hotel, and as soon as they walked into the lobby they were immediately greeted by a number of their closest friends, most notably karl and quackity, who tackled george into a tight hug like they were a group of hyperactive schoolchildren. dream knew that the three of them were extremely close, and it made a strong sense of joy bubble in his stomach when he saw how happy the three of them seemed to be. 

lots of other people were already there, including wilbur, niki and the rest of the european group who had taken a flight there a couple of days ago. everywhere dream looked he saw people cheerily welcoming each other, and it made the extroverted part of dream holler in delight - he would literally do anything to see his friends be happy, and right now, his greatest wishes were coming true.

by now it was closing in on late afternoon, and the big group had all decided on hearing to the hotel’s club in the evening. quite a few of them were underage, but fortunately the under-21’s would still be allowed in even though they couldn’t buy anything from the bar. it was supposed to be a ‘fun bonding experience’, but dream knew that it was just an excuse for karl and quackity to try and get everyone drunk to gain blackmail material from them. dream didn’t mind; he’d never been the best at holding his liquor, but he would’ve bet good amounts of money on at least _someone_ being a worse drunk than him. he was actually rather looking forward to the night’s activities - it might be a nice opportunity for him to let himself loose for once and to try and forget about all the thoughts clouding his mind. 

when everyone had said hello to each other, all the new arrivals headed over to the front desk to check in and pick up their keys, and slowly the group of friends all gravitated to their own rooms in order to prepare for the night ahead. dream decided to take a shower, and he let the steady, even spray of water relax his body. he suddenly realised that him and george hadn’t had shower sex in a while, and he hurriedly shifted that thought to his list of sexual to-do’s, a compilation of all his fantasises that he only let himself mull over when he was desperate. 

after getting out of the shower and drying himself off, he pulled a few random items out of his luggage bag and changed into them. dream had never really cared about his appearance - the way he looked and the way he dressed had never been of any concern to him. he pulled on a white t-shirt, a pair of black jeans and a matching black denim jacket; the outfit looked cool but ordinary, and it definitely wouldn’t make him stand out in a crowd. 

just then he heard the ping of his phone, and he quickly reached for it so he could read the notification.

to both his delight and dismay, it was a text from george.

_want me to come and pick you up before you go?_

dream had every heart to say no, but he just couldn’t deny george, seeing as it was _him_ that had specifically asked to come. 

dream text him back straight away.

_sure, i’m all ready. you can call now if you want._

dream didn’t really know what to do while he waited for his friend. his and george’s conversations hadn’t been awkward recently, but the blond had still felt a shift in their dynamic, like there was a sudden sense of cautiousness that both of them had to abide by. it made dream even more nervous thinking about what might happen if he did end up talking to george about his feelings. would george even want to listen to him? would he just shut dream out completely and leave him without even listening to what he had to say? or would he politely let dream ramble on before kindly telling him that he didn’t reciprocate his feelings? dream couldn’t decide which scenario was worse.

the blond was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door. he slipped his phone and keycard into the pocket of his jacket before making his way over to the door of his room and swinging it open. 

in front of him stood george, and goddamn he looked beautiful. his normally-dishevelled hair was combed so that it looked semi-presentable, and his skin looked incredibly smooth, as if he’d added some kind of foundation to it (not that he needed any anyway). he wore a navy blue sweater with a white collar peeking out over the top of the hem with a matching pair of denim jeans, and this outfit was all the proof dream needed that his friend could pull off just about anything. 

george smiled up at him. “you okay?”

_god i want to suck your dick so bad._

”fine,” dream answered bluntly, trying (and failing) to mimic the brightness in the brunet’s voice. he pretended that he didn’t see george’s smile falter. “ready to go?”

”actually, i wanted to talk to you.”

_fuck_ , dream though. _fuckfuckfuck_. this could _not_ be good. had he done something wrong? had he upset george? had he taken the whole ‘distancing’ thing too far?

“oh, um, okay,” dream said, pushing all his anxious thoughts away for a moment. “come in.” he stepped sidewards so george could enter the hotel room, and he pushed the door closed as he followed george inside. “so, what’s up?” he asked.

george took a deep breath, and dream braced himself for the worst. he didn’t have the faintest idea what george was going to say to him, but whatever it was, he knew it wasn’t going to be good.

”look dream, i have a lot on my chest that i just need to get off, and i’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt me before i’m finished,” george said assertively.

dream was shocked by the confidence in his friend’s voice - george had never spoken to him this head-on before.

“that’s okay, go for it george,” dream said. 

george maintained strong eye contact with dream as he took another deep breath. “look,” he started. “it took a lot of courage for be to be here, and i’m kinda nervous, so i’m sorry if i sound weird, but... i just have to say this to you dream, before i chicken out.” he sighed. “i know things have been really complicated these last few weeks, and i know that we’ve both had a lot going on. i don’t expect you to talk to me about everything that’s bothering you, because obviously we’re not dating or anything, but... you’ve been avoiding me, dream. these last couple weeks, you’ve been keeping away from me. i know it’s not because of the text i sent you, because you started dodging me like two weeks _after_ that. i know that i did something wrong, i must’ve, because why else would you be trying to skirt around me? i know that you’re mad at me dream, but... i just don’t know why. i keep thinking back to everything i’ve done to you recently, every word i’ve said, every text i’ve sent, but i- i can’t think of a _single_ thing i could’ve done to make you angry. which is why i’m so confused. i just... i don’t know what’s wrong, and i don’t know how to fix it, and it’s eating me up inside.” 

dream couldn’t believe what he was hearing. he stared at his friend, dumbfounded. “i... i don’t...” he stuttered, unable to form a proper sentence. 

“what did i do, dream? please just talk to me, please just tell me what i did so i can apologise and _fix_ this.”

dream was astonished. after all this time, george thought dream was _mad_ at him? these last two weeks, george had thought he’d done something so heinous that dream would choose to _avoid_ him? it didn’t make sense. “no, georgie, i- you haven’t done anything wrong!”

”no, don’t give me that, dream!” george said, his voice quivering slightly. “don’t lie to me dream, not now.”

“i’m not lying, george-”

”i don’t believe you!” george said, raising his voice. “i’ve had enough of this, dream, i’ve had _enough_ of us refusing to _communicate_ with each other. so _please_ , just _tell me what i did wrong_ , so i can focus on making it right.”

“for the last time, george, you haven’t done anything!” dream cried, trying to make his voice sound soothing, but all he managed to achieve was the same wavy, unsure, desperate tone of his friend. “i promise you george, you haven’t done anything to make me mad.” dream was nearing his breaking point, and he was afraid that if george kept pushing, he’d end up revealing everything. 

”so what is it then?” george asked pleadingly. “i don’t know if you’ve noticed, but whatever’s getting you down is starting to really affect you, dream. you’ve been more... i don’t know, distant? i don’t really know how to describe it. but you’ve been acting funny, and i can’t help but think that’s it’s because of me!” george’s voice suddenly softened, and the tone of it pulled at dream’s heartstrings. “please dream, i’m not letting either of us leave until you just talk to me.”

after all this time, after weeks of denying his feelings, after countless nights of passion, after too many days of confusion - dream finally snapped.

“you know what, george?” he said. “it is about you. it’s _all_ about you. you’re driving me fucking _crazy_ , and i can’t take it anymore. you know how hard it is to get through a day without thinking about you? god, it’s impossible! i literally can’t get you out of my head, and i hate it. i fucking hate it. i hate your pretty face, i hate your stupid adorable laugh, i hate that i need to be around you every minute of every day in order to feel _whole_.”

this time it was george’s turn to look astonished. “i... what?”

dream laughed shortly. “don’t ‘what’ me, george. i think you know. i think you know by now that i love you.”

that was it. there was no denying it now. it was out in the open. dream had just bared his heart and soul to george, and now it was up to the brunet what he wasn’t to do with the information he’d been given. 

when george spoke, his voice was low and timid. “so... you don’t _actually_ hate me?”

dream’s features melted into adoration. “i could never hate you, george.”

the blond had expected a lot of different reactions, but the one he _hadn’t_ excepted was george practically throwing himself at dream and smashing their lips together. 

dream reciprocated immediately, sliding his arms around george’s back as the older man’s fingers threaded themselves in the blond’s hair. their lips moved together expertly, and dream had never felt anything as intoxicating in his life. wasting no time, he bit at george’s bottom lip and pushed his tongue into the other man’s mouth, and the moan that george let out had dream already hardening in his jeans. 

“george, are you sure?” dream asked, pulling away briefly, mesmerised by the already-debouched look on george’s face. 

“god dream, _please_ ,” george said, pulling dream’s head back down so he could attach their lips back together. 

the night was a blur after that. dream picked george up and carried him over to the bed, hurriedly grabbing the bottle of lube that he’d thankfully stashed in his luggage before joining the older man. they undressed each other slowly, slower than they ever had done before, and the kisses they shared were sweet and soft and passionate and desperate and _perfect_. dream stretched the smaller man open slowly and carefully, littering his inner thighs with dark purple bruises and losing himself in the beautiful moans george let out every time dream grazes his prostate teasingly. 

when dream finally pushed inside, both men moaned in ecstasy. dream wasted absolutely no time, and he began thrusting in and out of george’s hotness fast enough for them both to get pleasure out of it, but slow enough for them to be able to enjoy the moment without desperation completely taking over. george’s arms wrapped themselves around dream’s upper back and his legs around dream’s lower back, effectively pulling dream even further on top of him, and the feeling of his large body covering george’s smaller frame along with the delicious drag of his cock in and out of george’s hole had the blond seeing stars. he groaned, burying his face into the side of george’s neck and nibbling the skin there, making the brunet cry out. 

“uhhhh, dream, _please_ ,” george whined, and dream lifted his head up so he could kiss george properly on the lips.

”it’s okay baby, i’ve got you,” dream said soothingly, and george keened at the nickname. dream sped up his thrusts, planting both of his hands at either side of george’s head to leverage himself, and the angle allowed him to hit george’s prostate dead on. the older man was practically screaming at that point, and a collection of curses fell from his lips as he clung tightly to dream’s body. it wasn’t long before they were both coming, each other’s names being the last words they moaned as they rode out their highs together.

dream collapsed on top of george, and his heart swelled ten sizes when he felt george’s slender fingers slide through his hair. he pulled out of the brunet slowly and flopped down onto the bed next to him. dream tuned his head to look at the other man, and to his delight, he was smiling. 

“well,” george said, his grin widening when he saw dream’s eyes on him.

”well,” dream repeated, and both men fell into a fit of giggles. they rolled onto their sides so they were facing each other, their faces only several inches apart. 

when they’d calmed down, george’s gorgeous smile still remained. “that was a nice surprise.”

”you started it,” dream reminded him. “i was just giving you what you wanted.”

george rolled his eyes lightheartedly. “like you didn’t want it too.”

dream leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to george’s nose, making the brunet’s smile widen even further. dream would never get tired of seeing that sight. “of course i wanted it,” he said, pushing a stray piece of hair from off george’s forehead. 

“so...” george said, “are we gonna talk about it?”

”talk about what?” dream asked.

“dream,” george pushed. “come on, you... you _said_ it.”

suddenly, dream remembered his previous words. _i love you_. 

“shit, yeah, i did say it, didn’t i?” dream said sheepishly. he could feel his cheeks turning red, and he buried his head into the pillows.

the sight only made george laugh again. “dream, it’s okay,” he assured the blond, pulling dream’s head towards him so he could press a soft kiss to the younger man’s lips. when he pulled back, his expression was apprehensive. “did you mean it?”

well, there was no turning back now. “yeah, i meant it,” dream replied, throwing as much sincerity into his words as he could. “you don’t have to say it back, though,” he said quickly. “i don’t expect anything back from you. i just need you to know that i _do_ love you george.”

george’s lips were against his again before he even had time to think. the kiss wasn’t fuelled by passion or desire, but, dare dream say it... affection. dream melted into it, wrapping his arms around george’s small body and pushing as much emotion into the kiss as he could. 

when they pulled apart, george was still beaming. “dream, i’ve never been good at talking about my feelings, you know that. i don’t think i’m ready to say it back just yet. but i do... i do too.”

dream had never felt happier in his life. his face muscles hurt from smiling. “it’s okay george, i understand. i’m just glad we’re on the same page now.”

george nodded. “yeah, me too.”

”so, what about all this?” dream asked. he gestured between the two of them. “do you wanna talk about this tomorrow? i’m pretty tired.”

”yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” george agreed. “i’m kinda tired too.”

”and what about the club?”

”screw the club,” george said. “i’d rather be up here with you anyways.”

dream kissed george chastely. “me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know that this chapter took a little bit longer to come out than the others, but i wanted to make sure that it was perfect seeing as it’s the last one :)
> 
> if anyone has any ideas as to other fics i could write (either oneshots or multichaptered) then let me know in the comments! i’m really enjoying writing right now and i’d love some ideas (just be aware however that i already have quite a long list of fics that i want to write, so if you do request something i probably won’t get around to writing it for a while). 
> 
> thank you for all the love on this fic, it makes me so happy to see that so many people have enjoyed it <3


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